Loading hopper



April 26, 1927.

. Filed Jan. 12. 1926 1,626,122 E. .1. SMITH I LOADING HOPPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS.

April 26 1927.

E. J. SMITH LOADING HOPPER Filed Jan. 12; 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jud April 26, 1927.

E. J. SMITH LOADING HOPPER Filled Jan. 12, 1926 3 Shoots-Shoot 3 I 6 ATTORNE Patented Apr. 26, 1927.

UNITED STATES EDGAR JOHN SMITH,

LOADING Application filed January 12, 1928, Serial No.

This invention relates to a hopper or receptacle for facilitating loading road or other vehicles with material in bulk from railway vehicles.

In unloading the contents of a railway wagon carrying material in bulk into a motor lorry, cart or other road vehicle, it is ordinarily necessary for the road vehicle to remain alongside the railway wagon the full period of time occupied in shovelling a full load of the road vehicle out of the railway vehicle. This entails an uneconomica-l utilization of the road vehicle and frequently also a waste of the time of the personnel thereof. In addition, especially in restricted spaces, the standing road vehicle is a hindrance to other road vehicles.

To avoid a road vehicle having to wait alongside a railway vehicle a long time whilst being loaded with material in bulk, it has been proposed to provide a hopper or receptacle mounted on a wheeled frame which is placed alongside a railway wagon so that the contents thereof can be slowly transferred by hand to the hopper. Then on a lorry arriving for a load, the contents of one or more of such already filled hoppers is discharged into the lorry which can without delay start away again.

Now the present invention relates to a hopper or receptacle for use under the above conditions, but which does not itself present any obstruction in the roadway alongside the rail track or siding. I

For this purpose, the invention consists of a hopper or receptacle provided with means whereby it can be supported by a railway wagon above a road or other vehicle alongside and adapted or provided with means for the controlled intermittent discharge of its contents into the alongside vehicle.

A hopper contrivance according to the invention is shown by way of example on the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is an end elevation and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one form of construction.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a modification of a supporting frame.

a represents the side of a railway wagon and A a lorry alongside.

A hopper bucket is supported from the side a of the railway wagon.

This hopper bucket consists of upright ends I; and downwardly converging sides 0 PATENT and (Z. At the lower border of the side (Z remote from the railway wagon is pivotedat its upper border a flap door 6 which opens outwards and which closes against borders of the ends Z2 and at its lower border against the lower border of the other side 0 of the bucket.

The flap door 6 is locked in the closed position by a sliding latch bar 7 and pivoted bell-crank latches 7 connected thereto by a slot 9 on each through which passes a stud f on the sliding bar 7. The latch bars 9 engage in gated sockets i on the side 0.

The sliding bar 7 and latches g are operated by a'hand lever 7' through a link 7',

lever 7c, transverse shaft Z, lever mand link '21.

The hopper bucket described above is supported at each end by an adjustable and collapsible bracket frame. Each bracket frame consists of a bar 0 of T-section extending downwards along the outer face of the side a of the railway wagon. This bar 0 is supported by a hook 7) engaged over the upper border of the side a of the wagon, and through a T-section socket 72 at the base of such hook 7) the bar 0 passes and to which it is pinned. the pin passing through a hole of a series of holes 0 formed at intervals along the web of the bar 0. To a T-section socket g which embraces the bar 0 above the socket 79 is pivoted a lever arm 7 the outwardly protruding end of which is supported by a chain 1* secured respectively thereto and to the upper end of a derrick arm 8, pivoted at its lower end to a T-section bearer socket s embracing and pinned to the downwardly extending baro a suitable distance beneath the hook 7). Each derrick arm .9 is supported by a cable t leading from its upper end over a sheave zf mounted coaxially on the pivot rod 9 of the lever arm 5/. As may be seen in Fig. 2.'this pivot rod 9 extends between and interconnects the two bracket frames, each of which comprises a derrick arm 8 supporting a lever arm 9. The lower end of each cable'zfi is pinned by a shackle t to the respective downwardly. extending bar 0. r

The upper surface of the lever arm 9 of each bracket frame constitutes a track on which the bucket is supported by wheels 10 at the lower portion of the'side 0. These wheels a encounter curved guide stops 9 at the outer ends of the lever arms 9 so that the bucket can there tilt about the axis of the whecls'u. The wheels 14 being set can i hooks.

backfrom the outer lower-borderof the side 0, enhances the out-reach of the hopper. The outward tilting of the bucket is limited by a segmental bar 1; pivoted thereto and by alternative notches ngagin'g"the' ro'dg which extends between the two bracket frames. The bucket is normallylinked'to the supporting bracket frames by, li-nks w pivoted to the lever arms 9 and to the ends 5 of thebucket, the latterconnection being releasable after withdrawal :of -apin 10- passed and stowed in thewagon so that are norprotruding:partsto i'oul other wagons or objects. I j 4 \Vith the above described "construction; the height of support otthe bucket; isfwit-h-in limits, adjustable by adjusting. the sockets 9 and s and shackles flral ngthe bars 0, whilst the angle ofthe bucket is adj ustably limited by the" segmental'barw.

To facilitate erection of the bucket b, e; (Z and the lever arms; 9 which form-tracks therefor, pulley tackles w are -provided on the derrick arms 8, these ta'cklesu-be-i-ng made fast after the leverarms q-have, been connected to the chains r -from the heads-of the derricks an'dother parts-are in position. An eye 6 is provided: at} each e'ndwof the bucket to receive the'h'ookyu ref-therespective lower pulley block-0f the respective tackle a. Likewise a cleat M r 1S3 provided-on each derrick s to make iast'the respective tackle fall a.

Although the construction off supporting brackets shown 'in'Figs, l and-2wpermits a small degree of vertical adjustmentlimited by the amountthe bars-g oan: be raised-in the hooksockets 79 without jeopardizing stability, when unloading-verydow:and shallow railway wagons it maybe neces'sary ior the bucket to be situated higher than-permitted by this construct-ion'ofbrackct. Fig.3shows construction ofbrac-ket-wh-ich permits the lever arms g, and therewith the bucket to be raised considerably above the upper; border of the'side ofthe-railwayfwagon. In" the constructionillustrated infFig. '8} the bars- 0 which extend down-the side 'oithe railway wagon are formed integrally with thehooks 7) and also extend--considerablyabove'thc Each, cable 2, is wrapped'around a separate winding drum sheave o-and connected to'- the respectivelever-arm g-at the inner end thereof. The inner end ofeach lever arm g "is forkedand- 'by-- studs 10 having anti-friction. rollers engages behind flanges on the respective vertical-bar-0.- The inner end-of the lever army is connected by a link {into the bearer s of the respective derrick s. The bearers s of the derrick arms 3 are in this construction forked to embrace the harsh and engage behind the ersnsand the vertical distance separating theseiparts may be-adj-usted The-winding dr-u-msheaves of the two brackets are keyed on a cross shaft 41 and are-rotated in *un-ison by a hand crank fast with a wpi-nion e gea 9 with a sp-urwheel l ptiast 'w-iththe cross shaft o, The two lever arms in this construction are rigidly interconnected by cross rods 9 so'thatthey-are "displaced as a single structure.

The height *of the brackets relativelyto the'ra ilway wagon is adjusted by rotating the crank ato r ise'or lower thc bracket *as a whole along the bars'o.

'Tostrengthen the side a of the "railway wagon from yielding outwards "under the weight of the bucket hopper, more especially-w-hen such side is pivotecbasa door, the hookbars 0 can be connected. bytie rods (not shown) to similarhook bars clamped totheother side of thewagon.

Conveniently each hopper holds approxi- 'mately one ton. Thus-a four ton lorry can gbedriven beneath and receive on one side ;the contents of two hoppers.v Thenthe lorry is turned round and driven-beneath wand receives on-theother side-the contents 30f two more "hoppers; whereby a trinimed load is taken. 7 7

greatsaving in' demurrage is also effected by the use of these hoppers.

Qbvi'o'usly the vehicle into which the load "is discharged may be arail'way wagon on an adjoining track, the advantages described above iii-connection with a road vehicle be -ing likewise obtained. For instance one railwaywagon can be quicklydoaded from filled hoppers "supporteckon a "number-of tot-her railway wagons, thewagon to be loaded being-moved successively from -one to anotherel the wagons-the bu-lk contents- 0f which are being shovelled into the hoppers.

I claim:

1.- Anarrangement for facilitating-dead ing a"vfehicle{ fromand alongside a railway wagon, consisting ot-a hopper bucket 'means for controlling theintermittent discharge of sad bucket hooks engaging over a side'of -=sa-id' railway wagon, leverarms supported by said hooks and supportingsaid"bucket, --a-ndderric'ks supported by said hooks-and extending upwards from beneath and sup- ,porting said lever arms.

2. An arrangement for' facilitating loading av'ehicle from and alongside-a railway Wagon, consisting of a hopper'bucket, means for controlling the intermittent discharge of said bucket, hooks engaging over a side of said railway wagon, bars extending downwards from said hooks, lever arms on said bars and supporting said bucket, and derricks on said bars and extending upwards from beneath and supporting said lever arms.

37 An arrangement for facilitating loading a vehicle from and alongside a railway wagon, consisting of a hopper bucket, means for controlling the intermittent discharge of said bucket, hooks engaging over a side of said railway wagon, bars extending upwardly and downwardly from said hooks, lever arms sliding along said bars and supporting said bucket, derricks sliding along said bars and extending upwards from beneath and supporting said lever arms, winding drums carried by said bars, and cables wrapping said drums and connected to the heads of said derricks and to the inner ends of said lever arms.

at. An arrangement for facilitating loading a vehicle from and alongside a railway wagon, consisting of a hopper bucket, means for controlling the intermittent discharge of said bucket, lever arms supporting said bucket, means supporting said lever arms to extend from a side of said railway wagon, a rod extending between said lever arms, and a notched segmental bar 011 said bucket engaging said rod.

5. An arrangement for li'acilitating load ing a vehicle from and alongside a railway wagon, consisting of a hopper bucket, means for controlling the intermittent discharge of said bucket, lever arms supporting said bucket, means supporting said lever arms to extend from a side of said railway wagon, links pivoted to said bucket and to said lever arms, a rod extending between said lever arms, and a notch-ed segmental bar on said bucket engaging said rod.

,In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EDGAR JOHN SMITH. 

